Of Closets and Idiots
by Lady Mirabelle
Summary: Aoshi and Misao find themselves in a very, very uncomfortable situation.


Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin belongs to Nobuhiro Watsuki.

A/N: It's been a while, folks. Didja miss me? No?

I'm back, whether you like it or not, and I'm back with a vengeance! After a whopping month-and-a-half hiatus, I've returned to the fanfiction community. Hm, now that I think of it, that's not that long of a hiatus... ah, oh well. Who gives a crap, right? Hehe, it's only fitting that my reappearance comes along with a one-shot! This makes fanfiction number five. I deleted Anata, for any of you out there who noticed. Hehe.

Arigatou in advance for reading and reviewing! –nudge nudge-

One more thing. In this fanfiction, Misao and Aoshi have become a "couple". Well, close to it, at least.

* * *

**_Of Closets and Idiots_**

Aoshi Shinomori blinked.

Misao's flushed face was mere inches from his own, and he grunted as he pulled back, or at least, attempted to. Alas, it resulted in nothing but an uncomfortable scuffle between the two.

"_Quit it, Aoshi-sama!_"

Aoshi choked out, "I'm trying to get us out!"

"In case you haven't noticed, we're stuck in a _locked_ closet!"

Aoshi sniffed and said calmly, "No need to get mad at _me_. This is not my fault."

"_Excuse me? _Are you implying that this… this is of _my doing?_"

A single sea-green eye cracked open and glared ferociously at Aoshi.

Aoshi murmured, "Shh. Quite down for a bit and let me think."

"This is _all your fault! How can I calm down, huh?_"

Aoshi frowned. "I'll get us out of here. Don't worry."

"No offense, Aoshi-sama, but if it weren't for you, we wouldn't be here in the first place!"

"Agh. It wasn't my fault. And, Misao, I thought I told you to drop the –sama."

"Shut up, you great lump."

Aoshi sighed. _How in the world did I end up in this situation?_

* * *

**_Flashback._**

"_Aoshi Shinomori, you get your butt in here!_"

Aoshi, who was innocently writing a letter to one Kenshin Himura in his room, flinched violently in his chair the second he heard Okina's yell of outrage. His hand twitched, and the brush slipped out of his hand, upsetting the bottle of ink. A black puddle spread across the lines of carefully written kanji characters, and Aoshi let out a soft hiss in dismay.

He rose slowly nonetheless, and headed outside towards the hall, planning to make his way towards the Aoiya's main room. As he walked, he spared a look at the now soggy remains of his letter and sighed.

He strode down the hallway swiftly and rounded the corner, but Aoshi slowed down when he heard light footsteps coming towards him from the same hall, and couldn't help cracking a small smile when he saw a familiar face. A _very _familiar face.

Misao, as cheerful as always, waved and called, "Someone's in a dark mood. What's wrong?"

"Oh. Hello, Misao."

"What kind of a crackpot reaction is _that?_"

Aoshi snorted lightly and put an arm around her slender shoulders, nestling her firmly to his side. He glanced down for a second, only to see her beaming up at him. He looked away, trying to muffle the smile that threatened to take over his face.

"Aoshi-sama, is there something up?"

Aoshi sighed. "My letter to Battousai was ruined. And also, for the thousandth time, drop the –sama, Misao."

"Okay, first of all, his name is _Himura. Hi-mu-ra._ Not Battousai, you jerkface."

"Nn. Old habits die hard."

"Exactly. Now, how can you expect me to stop calling you 'Aoshi-sama', Aoshi-sama?"

"That's different."

"Whatever you say, Aoshi-_sama._"

Aoshi scowled. _Time for a change of subject. _

"I'll have to rewrite the letter for the third time, you know."

Misao burst out laughing and said, "Oh! It's _that_ letter? The one that I practically demolished with my tush?"

Aoshi muttered darkly, "Such a small 'tush', yet such a large imprint…"

"_Hey!_"

Aoshi chuckled softly and said, "Only joking."

"Did you hear Okina call you, by the way?"

"I'd be surprised if all of Kyoto didn't hear that yell."

"You'd better watch out; Jiya just had a jug of sake."

"Again? One would think that he would have learned his lesson."

"True. Well, good luck!"

Misao slipped out of his embrace and moved backwards slightly

"What? You aren't coming with me?"

"Oh, come on, Aoshi-sama. You're a big boy now."

"Do I get a kiss goodbye?"

"What are you talking about? It's not like we're not going to see each other again."

"Oh, I see how it is. Don't you love me anymore? Or did you grow out of your little crush?"

With a delighted laugh, Misao took two steps forward and stretched her slender arms up, looping her small fingers together behind Aoshi's nape. She leaned up slowly and pressed her lips to his. Aoshi's arms found their way around her waist, and just as he started to gently push his way into her mouth, Misao drew back, slyly grinning.

"This _little crush_ isn't going anywhere. Got it?"

Aoshi smirked. "Ehh. If you say so."

"Ja, then. I'm going to help out Omasu and Okon in the kitchen."

"Wait."

"_What_ is it, Aoshi-sama? Goodness."

Aoshi lifted a solitary finger to point at a door and asked, "Since when did we have that door?"

Misao rolled her eyes. "Since the Aoiya's been built. What of it?"

"I've never noticed that door before."

"Oh, come _off_ it, Aoshi-sama. I know it's just a ploy to get me to follow you."

"I'm not kidding. I've never seen that door before in my life."

"It's probably just a storage closet or something. Now, can I go?"

Aoshi glanced at Misao meaningfully and said wisely, "We should check what's behind that door, you know."

Misao sighed. "And _why _should we do that?"

"Hm. Safety reasons."

"You're acting like a little kid, Aoshi-sama, you know that?"

"Better to be a little kid than an old man, don't you think?"

"Plus, you suck at lying."

"I do not."

"Come on. _Safety reasons?_"

Aoshi insisted, "Yes."

Misao gave an exasperated sigh and huffed, "_Fine_. We open the closet door, make sure there aren't explosives or whatever, and then I'm going. Clear?"

"Aa, that's fine."

"No more whining."

Aoshi chuckled. "I don't whine."

"_Whatever _you say," chimed Misao, and she leaned forward to open the shoji.

"Huh. Pretty big for a storage closet, wouldn't you say?"

"Aoshi-sama, don't be an idiot. Go make sure your so-called 'safety reasons' are legitimate so I can leave. Omasu will _kill_ me if I don't get back soon."

"Such a cold-hearted woman you are, Misao-chan."

"Maybe I wouldn't be so cold-hearted if I wasn't jumped by fools every time I passed a corner."

"Say what you will," he said with a smile. "I know you're head-over-heels in love with me."

Misao mimicked with a laugh, "Say what you will."

Aoshi sighed and walked into the closet, taking a look around.

"Agh, I take it back, Misao. This closet is smaller than I thought."

"Really? Let me take a look. It looks pretty big to me."

Just as Misao started to walk inside, Aoshi cried out softly. He had noticed a round, plastic ball where Misao was about to step.

_Surely… surely Misao would not trip on such an object? _

Dead wrong.

Even before Misao slipped on the ball, Aoshi knew what was going to happen. He shut his eyes and attempted to duck as all hell broke loose.

The top shelf against the ceiling started its swift descent to the floor as Misao's slender form banged into the wall, and she buried her head in her arms when books and ornaments and who knows what else began to crash to the floor. Aoshi and Misao clapped their hands to their ears as the deafening racket continued, and in doing so, were subjected to an endless torrent of falling objects.

A few moments later, however, a tense silence settled upon the small closet as the last notebook toppled to the floor. Aoshi slowly opened his eyes and let out the breath that he had been holding in. He nudged Misao gently with an arm, and her eyes snapped open as well. She could barely make out Aoshi's form in the darkness, but still, it was Aoshi, and she was comforted.

"Is… is it over?"

"Aa. For now. Go on, open the door before anything _else_ happens."

"Okay."

"Well? Open it already."

"It's not opening, Aoshi-sama."

"What?"

"You heard me."

"Here, switch with me. I'll open it."

"Aoshi-sama, if _I _can't open it, what makes you think you can? I can handle a door, you know."

"Aa, but still. Let me try."

A great deal of scuffling was heard before Aoshi's voice spoke again. "All right. Let's think this through."

"Aoshi-sama, just open the damn door. No thinking required."

"I thought you said it wouldn't open."

"Yeah. It won't. But you might be able to, Mr. I-Am-A-Living-Miracle."

"Right. Maybe it's one of those doors that needs to be pushed in order to open."

"Maybe so."

"I'm giving it a shot, okay?"

"_Wait! _I just thought of something! _Don't push that__ d-_"

Too late. Aoshi leaned against the door, and a quiet click could be heard resonating throughout the closet.

"_What did I say, you moron?_"

"What? You should have told me to stop _before_ I tried to get us out!"

"_I DID!_"

Aoshi took a deep breath and said quietly, "Calm down, Misao. Think this through with me."

Misao glared furiously at her companion and took a deep breath. When she spoke again, her voice was quiet and sweet. Too sweet.

"Aoshi-sama?"

"Yes?"

"We're locked in, aren't we."

"Yes."

Silence reigned for all of another two seconds.

"_DAMN IT TO HELL!_"

* * *

**_End Flashback._**

"Aoshi-sama? _Helloooo, Aoshi-sama?_ Darn you, Aoshi-sama, don't you go all comatose on me!"

"Hm? What?"

"Geez, Aoshi-sama, you spaced out for a second there."

"Ah. Just thinking about our little situation."

"What, have you figured out a way to get us out of here? Hmm?"

"No. Not yet."

Misao's voice shook. "You… you just _had_ to perform your 'stupid safety check', didn't you! Now we're _stuck _for God-knows-how-long in this _closet!_ _Are you happy now? Huh, Aoshi-sama?"_

Aoshi blinked. "Actually, I am."

"_Excuse me?_"

"Come on now, Misao. Didn't you want some _alone time?_"

"W-Well, I _guess_, but not in a _closet!_"

Aoshi shifted uncomfortably and lowered his head.

"You know as well as I do that this is not my fault, right, Misao?"

"No way."

"Which one of us tripped on a ball?"

"Which one of us wanted to inspect this stupid closet in the first place?"

"I'll say this again. Calm down, Misao. We might as well make the most of what we have, right?"

"Just what do we have right now, Aoshi-sama?"

"Peace and quiet. Think about it. Omasu and Okon aren't interrupting us with chores… Shiro and Kuro aren't here to snicker and crack jokes… and best of all, Okina is nowhere _near_ this closet. Surely this counts for _something_."

Misao propped a finger onto her chin. "Well… when you put it like _that_…"

"Exactly."

"I'm still mad at you."

"And I at you."

"I'm still going to kill you the second we get out of this place."

"Go right ahead."

The last of Misao's fury evaporated into thin air, and she said grudgingly, "Fine. Do as you wish."

Aoshi laughed. "I knew I'd wear you down."

He swooped down gracefully and dropped a light kiss onto Misao's cheek. Or so he thought.

"Damn it, Aoshi-sama, you just kissed my _eye_!"

* * *

A/N: Man, that was one hell of a one-shot to write. Holy shmoly, took me a while to squeeze that one out. Onegai, **review.**


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